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Willamette Student’s Community Service Noted by USA Today

Members of the Millennial Generation are volunteering at home and abroad in record numbers, notes a recent article in USA Today, and that includes Ben Clanton '10, an anthropology major at Willamette.

The newspaper's online photo gallery titled "Millennials Make a Difference" highlights Clanton, who has volunteered numerous hours with children in the community - as a reading buddy, classroom aide, assistant at a children's museum and organizer of Kids Day at Willamette. He is one of fourteen young adults from across the country whose service is featured.

"Ben is a wonderful example of how Willamette students are engaging in their community and making a positive impact on those around them," says Laura Clerc, Community Outreach Program director.

Willamette students volunteer about 57,000 hours a year as they live by the university motto: "Not unto ourselves alone are we born." They clean beaches, tutor children, offer pro bono legal advice, restore streams and feed the homeless, to name a few activities. Each winter and spring students travel across the country to help communities through the Take a Break service learning program.

The motto continues to inspire Willamette students after graduation - the university ranks tenth in the nation among small schools for number of Peace Corps volunteers, numerous alumni join Teach for America and many are engaged in leading and shaping the communities where they live.